The Portrait of Matthew in The Book of Kells immediately drew me to the seriousness and honor
of the painting by the colors chosen. The mostly warm colors signify the action
of the graphic while the bright colors draw my attention. The red stood out to me because it signifies
both danger and aristocracy and the bright yellow means both honor and royalty.
The contrast of colors made my eye drawn to the center of the picture and helps
point out the various elements of the design. The alignment and spacing are
equal and help organize the busy elements within the graphic while allowing the
most important figures to be together. The patterns and some figures are
repeated within the picture to give it unity.
